410-481-1570

April 17, 2009 |

So it’s been reported that the Cardinals are willing to hear trade offers for Anquan Boldin. And I think the Ravens should make a serious one to get him. This year, the Ravens are in prime contention to make a run to the Super Bowl. But one of the big missing links would be a deep-threat wide receiver. We all know Boldin’s capabilities and what an amazing season he had last year. Let’s also take into account his determination and perseverance—the man’s face practically broke into a million pieces leading to major reconstructive surgery after a terrifying hit, and he still came back to play as though he never left. Does that remind you of any wide receiver we know? Having a tandem of wide recievers like Mason and Boldin would give us unbelievable possibilities for our offense. Boldin would be able to spread out the coverage since Mason wouldn’t always be our go-to guy. And with Clayton and Williams as decent depth, that only makes the decision easier.

They reportedly are seeking a first and third-round draft pick. If the right deal for them comes along, they would take it…but they are not in any rush to get this deal done now, since he still has 2 years left on his contract. There is an obvious rush for the teams interested to get it done before the draft. Since I think that the Ravens need to be in a win-now mode, I think this trade makes sense. The biggest downfalls would be: we only have 6 picks in total this draft season, so using 2 on one player might be more than Ozzie would be comfortable with; and we would have to pay Boldin a pretty big salary (and deservingly so). That of course would take a huge chunk out of our salary cap. Another interesting factor is that Mason asked for a contract extension to happen before the season starts. The Ravens need to wait on this…not any disrespect to Mason and all he’s done for our team, but he is 35, and before we guarantee money to him, we need to make sure that last year wasn’t the last time we will see a performance like that out of him.